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Globalization and National Identity: Shintobul-i, A Case of Cultural Representation of Economic Nationalism
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- Authors
- Issue Date
- 2008-06
- Citation
- Journal of International and Area Studies, Vol.15 No.1, pp. 17-35
- Keywords
- Shintobul-i ; Korea ; Nationalism ; Globalization ; Identity
- Abstract
- This article aims at analyzing and explaining the process of invention, as well as its diffusion, and
finally examining the controversy around the meaning of the adage Shintobul-i. This Korean set phrase
literally means Soil and body are one and the same. Looking at the form of the adage, one can easily
be misled and think that it comes from traditional Korea or ancient China. Actually, it is an invention
of the Korean Agricultural Cooperative in 1989 in order to mobilize the public against trade
liberalization. The case study of Shintobul-i indicates that the cultural dimension of nationalism can be
deeply intertwined with economic interests so that they mutually reinforces in a synergetic process. 1)
The principal actors in the invention process are educated urban elites, even though farmers
contributed to the popularization of the idiom. 2) The emergence of Shintobul-i as a symbol of national
identity corresponds to the historical context of economic development and democratization. 3) The
diffusion and popularization of Shintobul-i cover a quite long period of the 1990s and the first decade
of the 21st century. 4) This case indicates that the symbols of national identity must possess the popular
appealing power as well as some specific qualities, such as indispensability or prestige, which make them worth of a nation.
- ISSN
- 1226-8550
- Language
- English
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